This is what worries me the most firing Napier. We have some really good young players and maybe top 5 young QB. Good recruits so far in 25, just hate to lose them. Maybe if we get a Kiffin or close we can keep them. Don't you think it will put us even farther back, but as much as I hate it to say it have seen no improvement from first year. We have good enough players to win 8 or so games so it has to be Coaching. Praying for a turn around but think we are going to have to start over AGAIN. Hate it for the players and Fans
If you follow Matthews in the morning, recruiting is the last thing that Gator nation should be concerned about right now. I do understand your point, personally I think, sure, UF will have defections / decomits but the current committed players are small in number. Considering all the buzz is around Lane Kiffen, his current Rebel team is hugely stocked with transfer portal guys. I have no idea if UF gets Lane Kiffen, Lincoln Riley or Jeff Brohm (3 names often kicked around), but I expect a huge roster turnover no matter what. As far as H.S. recruitng, we may as well concede the state to Miami and the usual poachers: Bama, UGA, Ohio State etc. Until UF aquires good lineman, on both sides of the ball, the Gators are behind the 8 ball.
I don’t have time to care about recruiting right now. It’s really the least thing we should worry about. Ending this coaching debacle should priority #’s 1 thru 10. We get the right coach recruiting fixes itself. Regardless, it’s going to be a transition class for someone. And they are almost always underwhelming. I thought the Mullen implosion was one of the harshest I’ve seen. Then Billy came and said “hold my beer”.
Some will stay , some will.leave. Not much will happen in recruiting until something is resollved with a coach.
Agree, lets face it, if UF falls to Miss State Saturday, the program will be lampooned mercilessly by the national media and pundits. I know we here at Gator Country have one saving grace - our friends in Tallycrappy. Obviously, given Billys "army" of consultants and of course the staff - many jobs are at stake and I do not take that lightly or for granted but how much more of a pounding will Gator Nation take? SOS suggested holding tight and give Napier a chance to "right" the ship, a win at MSU will even the record and just perhaps the team will continue to rebound against UCF. Of course myself and almost everyone else is skeptical, given what has happened. All we see is a 3rd year regression and the Gators are not even in the "hard" part of the schedule. Oh well, for us "fans" it's wait and see. Perhaps something positive will happen Saturday.
Regarding the behind the scenes staff, they may be very good but ineffective somewhat because of the HC situation. Whether or not AD eliminates, downsizes, or even maintains but cleans house, remains to be seen.
Though I think Gatormade is a great concept and has some use, I don’t see how it translates, on the field. Every “This Is the Swamp…” video does a GREAT job on how to transition into life after football, but through several hours of watching, I never see anything football related. And that’s kind’ve the most important part. A great guy, a great mentor to young men but just can’t get it together on the field.
Why even wait for the "hard part of our schedule" to make that call? A leopard cannot change his spots, and Napier cannot change what he's has not changed in nearly 3 years. I really enjoy SOS and value his views, but in this new age of Transfer Portals and NIL we cannot with till the end of the year and let other teams get a jump on their coaching search because we hesitated to do what must be done. The end of the year will be a bloodbath, and will reinforce what we already know... Napier is not the answer, and we must at least try to slow the bloodletting. Waiting to see this ship crash and burn at the end of the year serves no positive purpose whatsoever... Get an interim head coach to run the show now before we regret it later on.
I agree but keeping him on the sidelines probably doesn’t prevent the search for a new staff. Hopefully they are already on it.
Who would you put in Charge? Robert's has most experience, Gonzales seem to be a solid coach. I guess we need to wait for a opening maybe we go on a winning streak or will that not even matter
I’d put a Gator in charge. Just someone loyal to the school. Peterson or Spikes. Seems crazy but Williams did it at Auburn. It’s going to be a crap season anyway.
The haters at TheRant are laughing at us more than ever, and I can't blame them. We are the laughing-stock of the SEC, and they're all joining in... Sad, they even say that our players are essentially quitting on Napier. True or not, if we lost the team, then something needs to be done. The next guy must be a home run hire, and he better come soon.
I say Screw it... Most of the coaches are lame ducks anyway...Lets go air raid the rest of the season.. Put in DJ... Balls to the wall. Blitz every down..6-7 players everytime. So we lose... It would be exiting, different... The commentators on ESPN would be saying.. What the hell is going on in Gainesville, these guys are off the chain. I would watch just to see the mayhem... IMHO its better than looking inept and getting boat raced each week the rest of the season... Just a few thoughts from a Gator fan who is Angry, Stressed and Embarrassed.
Recruiting is done for. Move on from it, the next coach will have to raid the TP. But the fact that the next coach will need the TP proves how important it is to get rid of Napier immediately, and make sure a coaching hire is made right after season end. however - maybe this was done on purpose but there is basically nobody capable of being an interim on staff (its own separate issue), so I can see a scenario where Napier is let go (publicly or privately) but will finish the year. That way the board or whoever can start their HC search way early and be the first available. The strong suits of Napier such as character and wanting to mentor young men leads me to believe he would be able to be fired but finish the year without royally screwing UF
That's why so many are expressing the support for an outside transitional coach. I know that will never happen, but I can see the reason why it seems like an appealing avenue to pursue to many here. Waiting that late in the season might not even be the biggest killer. But if we can get an agreement (Kiffin gives tentative agreement to sign as head coach of the Gators) from Kiffin before the end of the season, then that would make all the difference in the world.
